You may earn a maximum of 3 points toward your final grade by doing the above and answering the questions and submitting them on time (no later than Friday, August, 25). Any worksheets submitted after the deadline will get a 0.
You will be rewarded a maximum of 3 points, if I judge your work to be above average. You will receive 2 points if your work is average, that is it may have a few minor mistakes in some of the answers but demonstrates correct grammar and indicates that some, but not all, of the answers, are acceptable and well expressed. You will earn only 1 point if you simply answered the questions and/or if you use poor grammar and if there are signs that you have not read the material on which your answers are based.
In the space below, describe the stasis at the beginning of Trifles. In other words, “Where are we?” “When is it (time, day, and year)?” “Who are the people involved?” “What is the dramatic situation in which the characters find themselves as the play unfolds?”
Trifles opens at the home of the Wrights during a cold and blistery day of winter in the Midwestern United States. The home is in disarray with nothing organized or in its place. The City Attorney named George Henderson, Sheriff and Mrs. Peters, and Mr. And Mrs. Hale all walk in from the cold outdoors with the men immediately surrounding the fire at the stove. They have gathered at the home of the Wrights in order for Hale to recount his story upon his visit with Minnie Foster Wright that led to his discovery of a strangled John Wright. The County Attorney is taking charge, and he is dictating the order of the investigation. Gender relations are also established by dialogue and actions between the men and women in the exposition. They are searching the house for clues regarding John Wright's murder. The house itself is cold and a somberness is cast over the entire place. The women are merely observing at a distance, and do not wish to interfere with the duties of the men. The house has become a crime scene, and the characters are curious to figure out what had transpired.
2. What is the intrusion that causes the stasis to be broken and the dramatic action to develop, often at an increasingly rapid pace, to the end of the play?
The intrusion begins to develop when the ladies find a damaged bird cage. They are confused as to why there is no sign of a bird. The intrusion occurs when Mrs. Peters discovers a “pretty box” in Minnie Foster’s basket of sewing materials. Mrs. Peters proceeds to open the box and discovers a dead bird inside wrapped in silk. The women are taken aback, and after investigating the bird they discover that its neck has been broken by someone. The women are dumbfounded that Minnie would keep a dead bird, especially in her sewing basket. After the discovery of the dead bird, the women continue to find more clues and explanations about the life that Minnie Foster Wright was living with John Wright. The killed bird is Minnie Foster Wright's motive. The County Attorney is searching for the motive, and this scene marks a turn in thought and priorly held beliefs of the women.
3. Why do the events of the play take place at this particular time and place? In other words, what is the unique factor which is out of the ordinary that causes a turn of events to take place?
The day of the investigation is cold and blistery. It symbolizes the solemness felt by not only the women investigating the house, but the somberness that Minnie Foster Wright felt everyday living in it. Since Minnie Foster Wright was taken into custody, the playwright uses Mrs. Hale and Mrs. Peters to live the life of Minnie Foster Wright while they are at the house. The women notice the “smaller things” like the damaged birdcage and ruined quilt, while the men are set on their own story of what the motives are. This enables the women to be left alone in order to discover facts that point to an abusive and harsh home environment for Minnie Foster Wright.
4. State the dramatic question or questions that must be answered by the end of the play? (Ordinarily, the dramatic question shares a close connection with the intrusion.) *Did Minnie Foster Wright kill John Wright? Mrs. Hale asks herself this question at the beginning of the play. She also tries to get an answer from Mrs. Peters. The fact of Minnie Foster Wright killing someone, especially her husband, is a horrible idea for her to consider. Overtime, she finds clues that allude that she did kill him, but she had her own reasons. Mrs. Hale throughout the play refers to her as Minnie Foster, and begins to realize that a victim lived inside the house even before John Wright's killing. They are reasons only other women would understand, thus the men are oblivious to these details. *Why did Minnie Foster Wright kill her husband, John Wright? Mrs. Hale and Mrs. Peters investigate this question after discovering the bird dead. They are so confused as to what happened in the house, and they sort through Minnie Foster Wright's life. The two notice how the quilt Minnie had been working on was very messed up. The quilt represents the sudden change in Minnie’s demeanor and her switch of personality to eventually murder her husband. Also, the women wonder whether Minnie meant to knot to quilt the blanket. The men mock them, but at the end the County Attorney asks them if they figured out what she was doing with the blanket. Mrs. Hale replies she was meaning to knot it, and it is a direct allusion to how Minnie finally broke and used a knotted rope to kill John Wright. Minnie chose to kill him this way in order to exact revenge for his brutal killing of the bird, whose neck he snapped.
5. Use Ms. Hale to answer the questions concerning character. Ball says, a character is revealed by what he/she does, that is the dramatic actions that are taken. Examine what the character wants (NOTE: In Trifles the wants of Ms. Hale change as the play progresses). The wants of a character often encounter obstacles that get in the way of achieving those wants. Ball says there are 4 kinds of obstacles that frustrate the wants of a character. They are: a. Me against myself, b. Me against another individual, c. Me against society (that is law, social norms, etc.) and, d. Me against fate, the universe, natural forces, God or the gods. In answering these questions be sure to point to the particular obstacles that demonstrate these obstacles for Ms. Hale.
In the begging, Mrs. Hale is brought along so she can act as almost a character witness for Minnie Foster since she lived near her. Mrs. Hale wants to know what happened that night with John Wright and Minnie Foster. She peruses the main room of the house and looks at its contents with the same eyes as Minnie, a farmhouse wife. Mrs. Hale often tells Mrs. Peters that she wishes she could have been there for Minnie, but she was always to afraid to go over and used her busy schedule as an excuse. In this case Minnie was obstructed by herself. The thought of putting herself out in a situation that would force her to enter the somber lives of the Minnie and John stopped her every time. As Mrs. Hale found evidence that supported the belief that John was hostile to Minnie, she also wanted to help Mrs. Peters gather things to deliver to Minnie while she is incarcerated. The pity Mrs. Hale feels slowly changes to understanding. Mrs. Hale begins to understand why Minnie cracked and killed John. Though, Mrs. Hale cannot help in the investigation like she wants. Her society was an obstacle that kept her from participating actively. The times in which Mrs. Hale and Mrs. Peters lived saw women as the homemakers and nothing more. Ultimately, Mrs. Hale gets what she wants. She acquires an understanding for why Minnie did what she did.
6. The most important information in most plays takes place during theatrical moments. Identify the most theatrical moments in Trifles.
Hale’s retelling of his encounter with Minnie and discovery of John’s body is a theatrical moment, because he acts out what had happened that day to convey the back story to the audience.
The discovery of the dead bird by Mrs. Peters and Mrs. Hale plays on the emotions of the audience. The dead bird causes confusion and curiosity and it propels the story.
Mrs. Peters collecting of items for Minnie creates a sense of pity and humanity for Minnie. Throughout the play Mrs. Peters garners items to give to Minnie, and the items often reveal more information to the audience regarding Minnie’s state.
The men gathered around the fire and examining the house in disarray showcases the setting. It reveals that the setting is cold, thus it is somber. Also, the dirty household suggests that Minnie had something else on her mind besides housekeeping.
7. Provide at least three examples of images in Trifles. How does the title of the play help us understand the images in the play? (Remember Ball says that, “An image is the use of something we know that tells us something we don’t know.” He goes on to say that images invoke and expand, rather than define and limit.”)
Minnie’s quilt acts as an embodiment of Minnie’s emotions. The quilt invokes a sense of uneasiness in the Wright household. Also, the men regarded the quilt as a woman’s job or item, thus they consider it a trifle in itself. The play develops to show that men regard what the women hold so dear as trifles, and reveals the impact of society on their homes.
The dead bird wrapped in silk in the box acts as a major image and clue. The bird reveals there was you play due to how it was so brutally killed. The bird itself was a trifle to John Wright, and that is what led him to disregard Minnie and kill it.
The single chair of preserved cherries also plays a role in understanding Minnie. All the preserved fruits represent the fortunes of Minnie’s life. The fact that all are ruined but one showcases that her fortunes have taken another less prosperous path. The Sheriff and County Attorney disregard the fruit, because they do not wish to trifle themselves with female business
Though it is not technically able to be seen by the eyes, Mrs Hale tells Mrs. Peters that Minnie was an excellent singer. This image of Minnie singing shows her humanity, but then the audience sees a less welcomed image of John Wright forcing her to stop singing. Minnie stops because she does not want to “trifle” her husband with “annoyances” to his ear.
The broken birdcage alludes to Minnie’s own break from imprisonment. She escaped her husband by force, and left her husband damaged and dead. The image showcases how harsh an environment Minnie dwelled in, but she breaks herself out of it. To John the bird and birdcage were a trifle, because he saw no benefit in having them. That is one reason he ultimately ends up killing the bird and hurting the cage in the process.
8. Ordinarily, there are many themes in most plays. List the themes in Trifles.
The gender roles of women and men are examined, and how they affect people’s way of life. The men hold the responsibility of the justice system, and thus it is clouded by bias.
Trifles discusses the role of isolation in people’s lives. It can dictate how people ultimately break under constant pressure and how it can leave someone scarred.
Masculinity and its traits are examined in this play. The men have to hold themselves above the women. They must do this in order to assure their masculinity is not challenged but other men, especially their friends.
Violence reoccurs through Trifles. John is violently murdered, and Minnie’s bird has its neck wrung by John too. The role of violence in the story goes to explain Minnie’s mindset to ultimately murder.
The idea of justice and judgment is also brought up. The plays asks whether John received justice for his cruelness towards Minnie and wether she was justified. Yet, the question of judgement still lingers and the audience is made to think about the judgement Minnie will receive even though she did it to help her situation.
9. Most American plays have something to do with family and/or family relationships. What does family have to do with Trifles? Is family redefined in Trifles?
The family of Minnie and John is a shaky one. Trifles sets out on a mission to show that even a family can have serious problems, and the dissatisfaction is hid from the world that does not dwell in the same four walls. Family is not an answer for all problems. In Minnie’s case, she is confined solely to her husband because society does not allow her to necessarily live her life in her own way. Her husband is around every corner. Family units can often be hotbeds for abuse. Trifles redefines family, because it showcases that the people who are supposed to be closest can be the most cruel. The family does not act as an exemption pass from dismay or sorrow. The play suggests that other avenues, like friendships, must be taken as well in order to find comfort and help.
You may earn a maximum of 3 points toward your final grade by doing the above and answering the questions and submitting them on time (no later than Friday, August, 25). Any worksheets submitted after the deadline will get a 0.
You will be rewarded a maximum of 3 points, if I judge your work to be above average. You will receive 2 points if your work is average, that is it may have a few minor mistakes in some of the answers but demonstrates correct grammar and indicates that some, but not all, of the answers, are acceptable and well expressed. You will earn only 1 point if you simply answered the questions and/or if you use poor grammar and if there are signs that you have not read the material on which your answers are based.
Trifles opens at the home of the Wrights during a cold and blistery day of winter in the Midwestern United States. The home is in disarray with nothing organized or in its place. The City Attorney named George Henderson, Sheriff and Mrs. Peters, and Mr. And Mrs. Hale all walk in from the cold outdoors with the men immediately surrounding the fire at the stove. They have gathered at the home of the Wrights in order for Hale to recount his story upon his visit with Minnie Foster Wright that led to his discovery of a strangled John Wright. The County Attorney is taking charge, and he is dictating the order of the investigation. Gender relations are also established by dialogue and actions between the men and women in the exposition. They are searching the house for clues regarding John Wright's murder. The house itself is cold and a somberness is cast over the entire place. The women are merely observing at a distance, and do not wish to interfere with the duties of the men. The house has become a crime scene, and the characters are curious to figure out what had transpired.
2. What is the intrusion that causes the stasis to be broken and the dramatic action to develop, often at an increasingly rapid pace, to the end of the play?
The intrusion begins to develop when the ladies find a damaged bird cage. They are confused as to why there is no sign of a bird. The intrusion occurs when Mrs. Peters discovers a “pretty box” in Minnie Foster’s basket of sewing materials. Mrs. Peters proceeds to open the box and discovers a dead bird inside wrapped in silk. The women are taken aback, and after investigating the bird they discover that its neck has been broken by someone. The women are dumbfounded that Minnie would keep a dead bird, especially in her sewing basket. After the discovery of the dead bird, the women continue to find more clues and explanations about the life that Minnie Foster Wright was living with John Wright. The killed bird is Minnie Foster Wright's motive. The County Attorney is searching for the motive, and this scene marks a turn in thought and priorly held beliefs of the women.
3. Why do the events of the play take place at this particular time and place? In other words, what is the unique factor which is out of the ordinary that causes a turn of events to take place?
The day of the investigation is cold and blistery. It symbolizes the solemness felt by not only the women investigating the house, but the somberness that Minnie Foster Wright felt everyday living in it. Since Minnie Foster Wright was taken into custody, the playwright uses Mrs. Hale and Mrs. Peters to live the life of Minnie Foster Wright while they are at the house. The women notice the “smaller things” like the damaged birdcage and ruined quilt, while the men are set on their own story of what the motives are. This enables the women to be left alone in order to discover facts that point to an abusive and harsh home environment for Minnie Foster Wright.
4. State the dramatic question or questions that must be answered by the end of the play? (Ordinarily, the dramatic question shares a close connection with the intrusion.)
*Did Minnie Foster Wright kill John Wright?
Mrs. Hale asks herself this question at the beginning of the play. She also tries to get an answer from Mrs. Peters. The fact of Minnie Foster Wright killing someone, especially her husband, is a horrible idea for her to consider. Overtime, she finds clues that allude that she did kill him, but she had her own reasons. Mrs. Hale throughout the play refers to her as Minnie Foster, and begins to realize that a victim lived inside the house even before John Wright's killing. They are reasons only other women would understand, thus the men are oblivious to these details.
*Why did Minnie Foster Wright kill her husband, John Wright?
Mrs. Hale and Mrs. Peters investigate this question after discovering the bird dead. They are so confused as to what happened in the house, and they sort through Minnie Foster Wright's life. The two notice how the quilt Minnie had been working on was very messed up. The quilt represents the sudden change in Minnie’s demeanor and her switch of personality to eventually murder her husband. Also, the women wonder whether Minnie meant to knot to quilt the blanket. The men mock them, but at the end the County Attorney asks them if they figured out what she was doing with the blanket. Mrs. Hale replies she was meaning to knot it, and it is a direct allusion to how Minnie finally broke and used a knotted rope to kill John Wright. Minnie chose to kill him this way in order to exact revenge for his brutal killing of the bird, whose neck he snapped.
5. Use Ms. Hale to answer the questions concerning character. Ball says, a character is revealed by what he/she does, that is the dramatic actions that are taken. Examine what the character wants (NOTE: In Trifles the wants of Ms. Hale change as the play progresses). The wants of a character often encounter obstacles that get in the way of achieving those wants. Ball says there are 4 kinds of obstacles that frustrate the wants of a character. They are: a. Me against myself, b. Me against another individual, c. Me against society (that is law, social norms, etc.) and, d. Me against fate, the universe, natural forces, God or the gods. In answering these questions be sure to point to the particular obstacles that demonstrate these obstacles for Ms. Hale.
In the begging, Mrs. Hale is brought along so she can act as almost a character witness for Minnie Foster since she lived near her. Mrs. Hale wants to know what happened that night with John Wright and Minnie Foster. She peruses the main room of the house and looks at its contents with the same eyes as Minnie, a farmhouse wife. Mrs. Hale often tells Mrs. Peters that she wishes she could have been there for Minnie, but she was always to afraid to go over and used her busy schedule as an excuse. In this case Minnie was obstructed by herself. The thought of putting herself out in a situation that would force her to enter the somber lives of the Minnie and John stopped her every time. As Mrs. Hale found evidence that supported the belief that John was hostile to Minnie, she also wanted to help Mrs. Peters gather things to deliver to Minnie while she is incarcerated. The pity Mrs. Hale feels slowly changes to understanding. Mrs. Hale begins to understand why Minnie cracked and killed John. Though, Mrs. Hale cannot help in the investigation like she wants. Her society was an obstacle that kept her from participating actively. The times in which Mrs. Hale and Mrs. Peters lived saw women as the homemakers and nothing more. Ultimately, Mrs. Hale gets what she wants. She acquires an understanding for why Minnie did what she did.
6. The most important information in most plays takes place during theatrical moments. Identify the most theatrical moments in Trifles.
7. Provide at least three examples of images in Trifles. How does the title of the play help us understand the images in the play? (Remember Ball says that, “An image is the use of something we know that tells us something we don’t know.” He goes on to say that images invoke and expand, rather than define and limit.”)
8. Ordinarily, there are many themes in most plays. List the themes in Trifles.
9. Most American plays have something to do with family and/or family relationships. What does family have to do with Trifles? Is family redefined in Trifles?
The family of Minnie and John is a shaky one. Trifles sets out on a mission to show that even a family can have serious problems, and the dissatisfaction is hid from the world that does not dwell in the same four walls. Family is not an answer for all problems. In Minnie’s case, she is confined solely to her husband because society does not allow her to necessarily live her life in her own way. Her husband is around every corner. Family units can often be hotbeds for abuse. Trifles redefines family, because it showcases that the people who are supposed to be closest can be the most cruel. The family does not act as an exemption pass from dismay or sorrow. The play suggests that other avenues, like friendships, must be taken as well in order to find comfort and help.